The International Association
of Gay/Lesbian
Country Western Dance Clubs

Dance Competitions

 © 1993 IAGLCWDC

 

The IAGLCWDC sponsors sanctioned dance competitions
at its annual conventions. 

Member clubs may also hold these competitions throughout the year.
Individuals may compete in line dancing, in beginner, intermediate, or advanced divisions.

Couples may compete in two-step, waltz, East Coast swing, West Coast swing, polka, cha cha and freestyle, depending on the division entered. Open divisions are novice, beginner, intermediate, advanced, and championship. Pro-Am divisions are beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Teams may compete in solo dance routine, line dance routine, couple dance routine, medley dance routine, or open dance routine categories.

Any person interested in becoming an IAGLCWDC sanctioned judge may file an application with the IAGLCWDC Dance Competitions Committee.

Any non-IAGLCWDC member organization wishing to apply for recognition of their dance competition may do so by filing an Application for Recognition. 

Requirements for competition are spelled out in the IAGLCWDC Dance Competition Rules. 

 

 
The IAGLCWDC Dance Competition Rules

CHANGES MADE IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, SEP 22, 2007:

  • a new award called the "Top Club Competition Award" has been added:
    • This award shall be offered at IAGLCWDC Championship Competitions only.
    • The purpose of the award is to encourage clubs to encourage their members to enter the competition.
    • The award goes to the IAGLCWDC member club that has the greatest number of entries in the competition.
    • For purposes of this award, each line dance entered is considered an "entry", each couple dance entered is considered an "entry", and each team  routine entered is considered as "entry". 
  • in the COUPLES Dance Rules:
    • Heats will be evenly divided to allow a maximum of eight (8) couples at a time.
    • Selected music will be played for one and one half minutes (90 seconds).
    • All seven dances (two step, waltz, east coast swing, west coast swing, polka, cha cha, and night club) will be offered in the Open Beginner, Open Intermediate, Pro-Am Beginner, and Pro-Am Intermediate divisions just as they have been offered in the Advanced Divisions in the past. However, only the required dances for those division will be counted toward the overall award for the division.
    • The BPM range for East Coast Swing has been increased to 145-160 BPM. The BPM range for West Coast Swing has been decreased to 105-120 BPM.
    • Extra time is not guaranteed for costume changes.
    • Pro-Am Division dances will now be judged using the Skating System (as are the Open Divisions) instead of the Medals System (as in the past).
  • in the LINE DANCE Dance Rules:
    • Competitors will dance four (4) patterns total (instead of 6 as in previous years). The first pattern will be a "vanilla" pattern—danced as originally choreographed as per the official IAGLCWDC step sheets. The following three patterns may be danced with individual country western styling and interpretation as per the official rules.
    • Competitors will dance the first vanilla pattern with their backs to the judges except in the one wall line dances.
  • in the TEAMS Dance Rules:
    • Lifts are no longer allowed in the Medley Dance Routine Category.
CHANGES MADE IN TAMPA, FLORIDA, MAY 22, 2008:
  • in the COUPLES Dance Rules:
    • The BPM range for Two Step has been decreased from 180-198 to 176-198 BPM.
CHANGES MADE IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, NOV 7, 2008:
  • in the LINE DANCE Dance Rules:
    • Competitors may now wear "attire appropriate for the music style" when dancing to non-country music.
The IAGLCWDC Dance Competition Rules
as adopted by the Dance Competitions Committee as indicated.
To help insure consistency all rules are now available in PDF format only.
Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. It's free!
Click to view
Right-click to download*		  
Couples Dance Rules As adopted in May 2008 at the Annual Convention in Tampa, Florida, USA
Line Dance Rules As adopted in November 2008 at the Semiannual Convention in San Francisco, California, USA
Teams Dance Rules As adopted in September 2007 at the Semiannual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
* If downloading, after right-clicking, Internet Explorer users select "Save Target As...", Netscape users select "Save Link As...". 

For further information, contact the IAGLCWDC Director of Dance, .

Approved Music Lists and Dances


 

 

Music and Dances Important Notes
Couples Dance Music
    2009

Couples Music Archive
Updated September 13, 2008
  • Couples music will now be reviewed and replaced every two years at annual conventions held in even years, beginning in 2008 at the Annual Convention in Tampa, FL.
  • The music was last reviewed at the Annual Convention in Tampa on May 24, 2008.  The tempo range for Two Step was changed to 176-198 and 8 songs were replaced.
  • Music as selected in Tampa will be used during the championship competition at the 2009 DC Annual, the 2009 2nd World Outgames in Copenhagen, and other Officially Recognized competitions until the next review.
  • The next review will be at the 2010 Annual Convention, location TBA.
Line Dances, Music, and Step Sheets
    2008-2009

Line Dance Archive
Updated September 13, 2008
  • Line dances and music will now be reviewed and replaced every two years at annual conventions held in odd years, beginning in 2009 at the Annual Convention in Washington, DC.
  • Line dances and music were reviewed at the Annual Convention in Atlanta, GA, May 25, 2007.  Seven of the nine dances were replaced.  This list was used at the championship competition during the Annual Convention in Tampa, FL,  May 2008.
  • In September of 2008 the Dance Competitions Committee replaced two of the Beginners line dances.
  • Line dances and music as selected in September 2008 will be used during the championship competitions at the 2009 Washington DC Annual, the 2009 2nd World Outgames in Copenhagen, and other Officially Recognized competitions until the next review.
  • The next review will be at the 2009 Annual Convention in Washington DC.  Any changes selected then will not become effective until after the 2009 Outgames.

Official Competition Entry Forms are here.  [link coming soon]

Something New! 

IAGLCWDC Teams Dance Championship Results
[PDF format, updated for 2008]
Results for Couples and Line Dance competitions are available
in the password-protected Delegates Area.

Upcoming Sanctioned/Recognized Competitions


 

2009
Stomps and Stripes Forever The 12th Annual IAGLCWDC Championship Dance Competition
during Stars and Stripes Forever
The 16th Annual Convention of the IAGLCWDC
July 4, 2009
Washington, District of Columbia, USA
The 2nd World OutGames Country Western Dance Competition
during 2nd World OutGames Copenhagen 2009
July 25 to August 2, 2009
Copenhagen, Denmark